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You may have heard some confusing news this week when two U.S. appeals courts issued conflicting rulings on a subject that’s important to millions of people: the availability of subsidies to help purchase coverage under the health-care law. Don't worry - we have you covered. Here are some frequently asked questions about those court decisions and how they impact consumers.

Q: What did the courts decide?

A: In a blow to the health law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the health law’s subsidies are available only to individuals in the 14 states and the District of Columbia now operating their own health insurance exchanges. The federal government now runs the exchanges in 36 states. Judge Thomas Griffith, writing the majority opinionin the 2-1 decision, said they concluded "that the ACA unambiguously restricts" the subsidies to "exchanges 'established by the state.' "

Our policies have not kept pace with this reality. This neglect poses tremendous challenges for families who are operating under workplace rules devised with Ozzie and Harriet in mind. Thankfully, it seems that politicians are finally starting to take notice.

One of the largest challenges working parents face is finding quality, affordable day care for their children. While it may seem that options abound, a 2007 survey found that only 10 percent of daycare operations provide high-quality care, with the rest of care ranking either fair or poor. The problem of low-quality care is particularly acute for low-income children who may already be struggling with the adverse effects of parents who work low-wage, unstable jobs.

Raleigh, NC – Days after class-action lawsuits claimedMcDonald’s is deliberately and systematically stealing employees’ pay, workers and community and faith leaders will protest Tuesday in Raleigh– part of a nationwide series of actions calling on the fast-food giant to stop its illegal wage theft.

The suits in California, Michigan and New York allege McDonald’s is robbing employees by forcing them to work off the clock, shaving hours off their time cards and not paying them overtime, among other practices. They demand McDonald’s, which earned nearly $5.6 billion in profits in 2013, pay back the stolen wages and stop its illegal theft of workers’ pay.

The crowd was enormous and the energy was electric. Progressives turned out in force for the Moral March in Raleigh, and we’re all the better for it. We need a movement to reclaim North Carolina from the grips of conservative extremism, and this event felt like both like a continuation of last year’s Moral Mondays and an even larger springboard for the fight we all must wage this year to protect voting rights and workers’ rights, expand Medicaid, restore unemployment benefits, improve public education, defend women’s health choices, preserve our beautiful environment, and win fairer treatment of immigrants. And that’s just for starters!

We took eight vans over from Charlotte, including a good mix of immigrants, seniors, progressives, and folks who just care about the direction of our state and wanted to be seen and heard. It’s a lot of work to get 8 van loads over, and props are due to our staff for some long days this past week, and to some friends and allies who stepped up to drive when needed them. Charlotte has always been under-represented at HKonJ, and we were determined to do our part this year to take advantage of this important moment.